


Peggy

by ThatGoblin



Series: The Pack [12]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, family introduced, it's got a happy ending i swear, stranger danger, wren gets some friends, wren's triggered
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:34:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatGoblin/pseuds/ThatGoblin
Summary: Wren's still dealing with the break in and Tilly's antics even after it's over with when Link's sister and brother-in-law visit to pick a spot to move near them.
Relationships: Link Neal/Original Female Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal/Original Female Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Pack [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699129
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Peggy

It was the first time I was meeting any of the boys’ family. From what I understood, Leo and Viv were coming over to look at land down the driveway to pick a spot for their house. I was nervous. It wasn’t uncommon to have younger mates, but Rhett and Link were almost twice my age and I had anxiety over not being liked by Link’s sister and brother in law. I had cleaned the house twice, made sure everything was in its place and even cleaned the barn out myself as well. Nervous energy was taking hold of me while Rhett and Link just seemed to take it in stride. 

Instead of trying to stop me or talk me down, they stepped out of my way and let me get it out of my system. I watched the clock as it counted down the minutes till they arrived, but it seemed that I was working myself up into a tizzy the longer I watched the clock. No matter what I finished, there was always something else to be done and it wasn’t until Link pulled me into his lap to kiss me long and hard that I felt I could actually breath. 

“You’re gonna be fine, Darlin’,” Link said as he nuzzled against my cheek. “I love you and I know they’ll love you too.”

“You think so?” I asked, curling up to him. “I just. . . I really want them to like me and I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“You could never disappoint me,” Link said, looking in my eyes. “Viv and Leo are good people. So are you. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

“Thank you, for talking to me a bit,” I said, nuzzling him back, scenting his neck and shoulder. 

“You’re very welcome, Darlin’,” Link said with a hum, scenting me back. Rhett came in from salting the steps and porch a few minutes later.

“You finally get her to stop trying to clean things? I was worried for a moment she’d try to tweeze my eyebrows,” Rhett said with a chuckle. 

“I still will if you keep that up,” I said, glaring at him from my spot in Link’s lap. 

“Now now, children,” Link said before giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Be nice. Company is coming over.”

“Yes Daddy,” Rhett said, leaning over the couch to kiss Link then me. 

“You know how I get when you call me Daddy,” Link said with a smirk.

“I can feel how he gets when you call him Daddy, right now,” I said, giggling as Link rolled his eyes at me. We kept teasing each other, the tension of me zooming around with a mop and bucket to clean everything gone. I was feeling better about it and not paying attention till the front door opened. 

“Hey Leo, hey Viv,” Rhett said, moving over to greet them with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Link helped me up before standing as well. Taking my hand, he led me over to his sister and her mate. 

“Hey guys, this is Wren,” Link said, introducing me. I felt like a child, hiding behind a parent as I clenched Link’s hand in mine while staying back a bit behind him. I was wary of strange Alphas and Betas since the incident with Tilly and while they were family, I couldn’t stop the habit I had formed of sticking to Rhett’s or Link’s side around others. “Wren, this is my sister Viv and her husband Leo.”

Viv looked a lot like Link. Jet black hair with bright blue eyes and a slim face. She was tall like him too, a few inches shorter, but still taller than me with a lean body. Leo looked like a damn lumberjack from a paper towel commercial as he towered above me. A thick beard like Rhett and hair swept back that made him look like a romance novel love interest with the body to match. It was intimidating to say the least. Especially since I was the shortest person there, coming up to Link’s shoulder. 

“Hi, it’s wonderful to finally meet you, Wren,” Viv said, holding out her hand. Her voice was entrancing. A whispiness with a rasp that had a melodic twist at the end. I could have listened to her read the dictionary and felt at peace with the world. 

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I said, smiling softly. Relaxing a bit more, I loosened up my grip on Link’s hand to let go, but stayed close. “Nice to meet you, Leo.”

“Nice to meet you too, Wren,” Leo grinned, a thick Dakota accent coming through. I turned to give him my hand, but as he took it, he pulled me in for a hug. “I was hoping we’d get to meet sooner that way we could all hang out and have dinner sometime!” 

“AH-HUM!” I grunted, completely caught off guard from the large man hugging me. 

“Uh, Leo, honey,” Viv said gently as her husband bear hugged me. I didn’t know how to feel about it, but the panic from earlier was coming back full force and my knee jerk reaction was to jerk my knee. Into his groin. 

“Oh jeez,” Leo wheezed as he let me go. I scurried back to between Rhett and Link, trying to hide behind them as I balled my hands into fists as fight or flight gripped me. “She sure has a kick on her,” he said, holding himself. 

“Wren!” Link cried as Viv and him caught Leo to take him to sit down. “What the hell!?”

My face flushed with embarrassment at being yelled at by my Alpha in front others when I felt a threat. The panic still had me, but turned into anger at Link being upset with me. I didn’t do anything wrong! Leo got too friendly! I didn’t say anything though, I just stayed quiet as Link and Viv attended to Leo on the couch. Rhett was quiet as well, but moved away to go to the freezer to get an ice pack. 

“I am so sorry, I don’t know what came over her,” Link said as he took the ice pack from Rhett. “She’s never done something like that before.”

“I’m right here and can hear you,” I snapped. “And I have done stuff like that before, to people who deserved it and he deserved it.”

“Wren,” Link snapped back. “Apologize. Leo didn’t do anything wrong.”

“No!” I growled. “I didn’t do anything wrong, he did.”

“Wren,” Link said, his Alpha voice coming through. “Apologize.”

“Link, it’s not a big deal,” Viv said, trying to calm her brother down. “Leo just spooked her. He doesn’t understand that sometimes you don’t just hug people willy nilly.”

“It’s all good, bro,” Leo said, giving Link a thumbs up. “Sorry for startlin’ ya,” he said over his shoulder to me. 

“If you’re sure,” Link said looking from Leo to me. I was not going to apologize. It didn’t matter how much force Link put into his voice, I wasn’t budging. 

“Link,” Vivi said, getting her brother’s attention. “It’s fine.” Link sighed before nodding. 

“Come here, Sweetheart,” Rhett said softly, taking me to the bedroom. I bristled as he tried to guide me by placing his hand on my shoulder, but I couldn’t help a growl and snarl. Pulling his hand back, he walked with me where we could have a private conversation once the bedroom door closed. “What was that?” He asked, his voice calm and concerned. 

“I-I just didn’t expect to be hugged,” I said, looking away from him. 

“Wren, that was more than not wanting to be hugged,” Rhett said. “Does this have to do with the guy that broke in?” I was silent a moment before nodding. “Did you get spooked and upset cause it was sudden and he’s a stranger?” I nodded again as he sighed softly. “I’m sorry you felt threatened, Sweetheart. Do you wanna stay in here for a bit to calm down?” I nodded a third time, wanting space from the new people in the house. I’d be fine if I spent more time with them, but not right then. Not when I was tense and ready to fight suddenly. “Wanna cuddle on the bed?” Rhett asked, holding out his hand instead of just trying to touch me. 

“Yes, please,” I said softly, taking his hand. Rhett pulled me onto the bed, holding me close as he wrapped his arms around me to face him. He rubbed my back and let me relax, releasing a calming scent for me. I was safe and Rhett was there so I wasn’t alone. 

A few minutes passed before there was a knock at the door. I tensed up, but Rhett shushed me and stroked my hair.

“Come in,” Rhett said as he kept a firm hold on me. I stayed facing him as the person walked in, stopping a few feet away to keep space. “Hey Viv.”

“Hey Rhett. Wren, we were going to go outside to look around at some land to pick out a spot for the house. I’d like it if you came with us. I know Leo’s a lot to handle sometimes, but he promised to give you your personal space and not scare you again,” Viv said. How could I say no to that voice? Even if she was speaking to me like a child, but then again I’d just nailed her husband in the dick and then got sent to time out of sorts. 

“You wanna do that, Sweetheart? Link and I will be right there with you,” Rhett said, looking down at me. With the reassurance of him and the allure of Viv, I nodded. 

“Gimme a minute,” I said softly.

“We’ll be outside, Sugar,” Viv said before leaving. After a few moments, I pulled away from Rhett to stand. Feeling much better and more in control, I walked out with him to get our boots and coats before we joined them outside. I stuck to Rhett’s side and true to his word, Leo was giving me personal space. Link watched for a moment before moving over to us to take my other hand as we all walked down the mile long driveway. 

“We were thinking maybe over there,” Leo said, his arm around Viv as he pointed down the way to the bend in the road. The driveway bent twice before getting to our house and the last bend had a small road come off it into the pasture. The area had a few big oak trees around it that made it look like a good place to have a house. Nice flat area for a yard and easy building.

“That’s a good spot. The well runs along that side too so we don’t have to dig the road up,” Link said as we walked closer. They kept talking about different spots, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each point. Viv let Leo take the reins as she stepped back a bit as Link let go to talk to him about a spot he liked. 

“Wren, you mind if I talked to you alone?” Viv asked as the three of us stood back to let Link and Leo work things out. I glanced at her before looking at Rhett and nodding. 

“Holler if you need me,” Rhett said, kissing my head before walking over to the other Alphas.

“What’s up?” I asked, unable to keep myself from tensing as it was just her and me. 

“I’m not upset about earlier and neither is Leo,” Viv said. “I wanted you to know that. Leo did too. He didn’t take it personally.”

“Thanks,” I said. I started to feel guilty a bit, but not enough to apologize. I was standing by my decision and since Viv and Leo didn’t seem to mind I wasn’t going to broach it. “I’m not good around strangers.”

“I figured. Especially after the break in,” she said as we walked slowly to the boys. "Link told me about it after it happened. Not in detail, but the important parts. That probably wasn’t easy to deal with."

“Not really. I talked to Link and Rhett about it, which helped, but I’m still working through it,” I said. It was the first time I was talking about this with someone other than my boys and it felt scary, but also relieving. I wasn’t carrying this weight on my own even with the boys, but they didn’t get it really. They saw the danger as gone and I couldn’t help but distrust everyone. It wasn’t just the break in either, it was Tilly too. I had thought she was my best friend only to do something so horrible to me without even thinking twice. 

“It’s tough, but it does get easier,” Viv said. “I know from experience myself.” My head whipped up to look at her in surprise. What? I knew that my situation had been pretty wild and not common, but I forgot to think that maybe part of it wasn’t. “I had something similar happen as well and it took me a while to get to where I am now. The lack of trust, paranoia, outbursts of anger, nightmares. . . It doesn’t go away fully, but it does get better.” 

“I want it to,” I said, looking from her to the boys. “I want it to get better and I want to have people outside the three of us I can rely on. It was hard coming here and leaving everything I knew and loved behind for good. Even though the boys and I eventually became a pack, it gets lonely sometimes with no one else that you can see or talk to that might know other stuff or have different opinions or tastes.”

“I understand that and coming from the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s a happy middle ground that I’m hoping to find soon,” Viv said. 

“Sometimes I just wanna bitch about how dumb they can be or tell someone how proud I am of them, but I don’t have that anymore,” I said with a sigh. 

“If you’d like, I could help with that,” Viv offered. “We could spend time together and do the things we both want to do. I wanted to move to get some space, but I don’t want to be alone either. Think we could do that?”

“Are you asking me for friendship or girlfriendship?” I asked, a wry smirk growing on my face as I looked at her.

“Maybe both, who knows,” Viv said with a giggle and a wink. “But friendship and family for sure. That’s what I’m offering.”

“I’ll take it. Being alone is overrated,” I said with a nod as I linked arms with her. 

“What are you two talking about?” Link called from where the boys were standing.

“I’m leaving you for your sister!” I called back.

“Not again!” Link cried as Rhett and Leo laughed.

“Again?” I asked, looking to Viv.

“Link wasn’t always so suave as he is now and a lot of his past relationships liked me more than him after a while,” Viv said with a giggle.

“Including Rhett?” I asked.

“Surprisingly no,” she said. 

“Huh, makes sense,” I said with a nod as the boys walked back over to us. 

“They were best friends growing up,” Viv said. “Knew each other since they were 7 and stuck together since.”

“I knew they’d been together for a while, but that’s longer than I’ve been alive,” I said, earning a giggle from Viv. 

“Now, I know she seems real nice, but she’s already proven that she’s feral,” Link said as they got closer to us. 

“I am not feral!” I cried.

“Eh, kinda are,” Rhett said with a chuckle. 

“I swear to god,” I groaned. 

“Careful, Wren’s got that look in her eye,” Link said, stepping away.

“Oh, a look in my eye? Boy, I’ll show you a look!” I cried, swatting at Link who jumped away. “You stand there and take your lumps!”

“No!” Link screamed as I jumped at him, running behind Rhett. Spending time outside and not cooped up in the house, actually having fun while talking to people that I didn’t live with helped my mood immensely. Too soon, Leo and Viv left, having picked out their spot for their home. It would be a week before they could get started with construction, but they still had to get paperwork taken care of. 

Back inside, Rhett started dinner while I went to gather up laundry to start. In the basement, I filled the washer with the dirty clothes. Reaching for the detergent, there was a knock on the door frame. Turning, I saw Link standing there with his hands in his pockets

“Can we talk?” Link asked, leaning against the frame.

“Sure,” I said, tossing the detergent into the washer before closing the lid. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to apologize for earlier,” Link said, coming into the small room. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like I did. Especially in front Viv and Leo.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Rhett mentioned he talked to you a bit and I. . .” He paused to take a deep breath. “I guess I knew you were still dealing with things, but I didn’t realize that it would come out like that. I know I’m still dealing with it myself, but I trust Leo would never hurt you or do anything bad to you. Just thought you would know that from how we acted with him, but that’s not fair to you. I’m sorry, Darlin’.”

“Thanks, Link,” I said, taking a deep breath before wrapping my arms around him. Link wrapped his arms around me as well, kissing the top of my head. “Strangers just make me uncomfortable anymore. With Leo, I panicked and reacted that way because everything was telling me that I was in danger.” 

“I’ll try to be more thoughtful next time and remember that,” Link said. “Any time you wanna talk about it either, I’m here.”

“I know,” I said, looking up at him. “Viv gave me her number and we’re already planning to hang out at some point. She’s a good sister.”

“She is,” Link said with a chuckle.

“Unless she steals your boyfriends or girlfriends,” I said with a smirk.

“It happened enough that it was a thing,” Link groaned over me laughing. “Come on, let’s go upstairs and make sure Rhett didn’t set anything on fire.”

Going back upstairs, Link could have been a prophet with his remark. Rhett was throwing a smoking pot into the sink while cursing under his breath as we walked into the kitchen. 

“How do you guys feel about Chinese tonight?” Rhett asked, turning to us. 

It didn’t take much to get us on board with the dinner idea. Bundled up and in the truck, we drove to town to eat at the only Chinese buffet for the whole county. It was good and for the price it was better than going to a steakhouse, especially considering we ran a beef ranch where we could get so much steak all the time. We parked on the side of the building on the street before walking in to get a table. I reached for my phone, but it wasn’t in my pocket. Patting myself down as we were seated, I grumbled under my breath.

“Rhett, can I have the keys to the truck? I think I forgot my phone in there,” I said.

“Here ya go,” Rhett said, handing them over. “Want one of us to go with?”

“Naw, it’s just outside,” I said, shaking my head before briskly walking away. I didn’t really need my phone, but I wanted to make sure I knew where it was. Outside, I went right to the truck. Unlocking it, I climbed inside to look around for my phone. Where the hell did it go? Bending over to look under the seat, I found it tucked underneath. 

“Hey baby, you need some help?” 

I froze for a moment, hearing snickering behind me as footsteps came closer. I grabbed my phone before scrambling out of the truck. There were three Alphas that were crossing the street towards me and while I wanted to just run, panic gripped me again to cement me in place. 

“What’s a cute thing like you doing out here alone?” One asked as they blocked me from leaving. 

“Someone should keep you on a leash. I know I wouldn’t let my Omega out alone, especially one as good looking as you,” another said, reaching out to touch my hair. That was the thing to break me from my fear. I slapped his hand away with a growl. “Ooo! She’s feisty!”

“Fuck off, assholes,” I snarled. I could have called Link or Rhett with the phone in my hand, but I didn’t think of that. I just thought that I could take care of these jerks myself. 

“Omega’s got balls!” The third one sneered. “She won’t have the sense to do much when we get done with her.”

I made to push past one, but he grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me back against the truck.

“Where you going, baby? We’re just talking. What’s wrong with that?” He said with a laugh.

“Let go,” I snarled, trying to push past but he kept me pinned to the truck. “Back off!”

“Come on Bryan, why don’t you show her how to be friendlier,” one of them said with a laugh. 

As Bryan was leaning in to crowd me, there was a deep growl to the side. We all looked to see a big, black wolf standing there with its teeth bared as it walked closer. 

“What the fuck?” Bryan hissed as he backed away when the wolf snapped its jaws at him, charging to force the Alphas away. It stood between me and the men, snarling and snapping its jaws and barking. 

“That’s a fucking wolf man! I’m not messing around with that!” One man said before running, quickly followed by the others. The wolf didn’t chase after them though, instead staying in front of me and watching them leave. Taking a moment, I let myself fall back against the truck as adrenaline rushed through me. I should have called Link or Rhett or had one of them come with me. How stupid was I? Sliding down into a crouch, I scrubbed my face before taking a deep breath and letting it out. This should have never happened and I was dumb to think that I was okay by myself, but I wasn’t. I should have been more careful, more observant, more cautious, more-

A wet tongue lapping at my face brought me out of my self blame. It was the wolf. It was whining, cocking its head to the side to paw at me as it licked at my face. A closer look showed that it wasn’t a wolf. It was just a big dog with black fur and brilliantly blue eyes. 

“Hi, sweetie,” I said softly, holding out my hand to let it sniff before trying to pet it. Its fur was so soft, but dirty. This had to be someone’s pet, but there was no collar or anything to say who it belonged to. “You’re so nice. Is someone missing you?” I asked, baby talking the dog as I looked it over. There weren’t any fleas or bugs on her, I checked and she was a girl, but she looked pretty thin and had clumps of mud stuck to her tail and belly. Dogs that big weren’t just skinny overnight, so whoever she belonged to hadn’t been around for a while. 

She let me love on her, giving her kisses and hugs as she licked my face. Sitting next to her, she was much bigger than me. There was a possibility that she was a wolf dog and got loose from her breeder. I checked her ears and there were no tattoos to suggest that and she was so friendly that it was quick to tell she wasn’t half wolf at least. 

“Wren?” I looked up to see Link walking over with a frown as the dog stood in front me while I sat on the ground. “Wren! Be careful!” He cried as he rushed towards me. The dog jumped up to stand in front of me, barking and snapping her teeth at him. Link pulled up short, backing up. 

“Hey, hey,” I said. “He’s okay, he’s okay.” I whistled for her to come to me, which she did, but planted herself on my feet. “He’s okay. He’s a good person.” I cooed over her, rubbing her down before walking around her to Link where I scented him and showed Link was okay. 

“Wren, that’s a damn wolf, what are you doing?” Link said, staying calm and still. 

“No, she’s just a big dog,” I said. “I'm pretty sure.” Patting my thigh and whistling, the dog trotted over happily to sit in front of us. “Now let her smell ya.” Link put out his hand, letting the dog sniff him then lick his hand before standing up to bark happily and even jump a bit. “She’s a sweetie. I think someone dumped her or she ran away. She’s kinda thin,” I said, moving to crouch down and pet her again.

“Is this what was taking you so long?” Link asked, watching without pushing his boundaries with the dog and me. 

“Kinda. Asshole Alphas came over to start shit and she showed up. Chased them off and hung around with me,” I said, smiling as she licked my face. 

“Are you okay though? You’re not hurt?” Link asked, looking from me to the dog.

“I’m fine. Peggy here saved the day,” I said, looking up at him.

“Peggy? How do you know her name’s Peggy?” Link asked with a snort.

“Cause I named her Peggy,” I said, giving him a puppy dog look.

“Wren,” Link groaned. “I don’t know. We don’t have stuff for a dog.”

“We can get stuff though,” I said with a grin. “Store’s still open. We can get some stuff for her real quick.”

“Oh Jesus,” Link said with a sigh. “Rhett’s gonna be mad.”

“What am I gonna be mad about?” Rhett asked as he rounded the corner.

“We got a dog!” I cried, laughing as Peggy bowled me over to lick at my face. 

“What!?” Rhett cried. 

Getting takeout instead of staying in, we ran by the store to grab a collar and supplies for Peggy. She was more than happy to jump in the truck with us and go home. Rhett grumbled the whole time, but he did give her pets and pats without hesitation. At home, I gave her a bath and fed her. I was able to see she’d been fixed and after some research we figured out she best fit the profile of a wolf dog. Wolf dogs are a hybrid of wolf and dog bred together. Peggy though, was likely mixed with domestic dogs a few times down the line instead of other hybrids or wolves from how sweet and even tempered she was. She was big as hell, but acted like a German Shepherd.

I was beyond thrilled to have her in the house, loving on her and laying with her on the floor in the evening. Stretched out from nose to tail, she was longer than Rhett was tall almost. Which was why I figured she was part wolf. To keep her safe outside, we got her a brightly colored vest to make sure no one mistook her for a wolf either. We didn’t have many around our area, but there were a few. Peggy got her own, huge bed that stayed at the side of ours, and she even got her tame tags that jingled everywhere she went. 

The boys were hesitant at first, but came around once they saw she wasn’t going to suddenly turn and eat their faces. She’d put her head in their laps and whine for pets, even climbing into Rhett’s lap on the couch. When it was time for bed, she went up stairs with us with no problem and settled on her bed. I traded spots with Rhett for the night, wanting to be able to see her and check on her if I needed to. Peggy had to have been a pet. She was so well behaved and sweet and knew commands. Half of me wondered if someone was looking for her, half of me hoped they weren’t. 

“Hey,” Rhett said into my ear as we settled into bed. “She’ll be fine, she’s going to sleep like we are.”

“I know,” I said with a sigh. “Just. . . I just want her to be happy.”

“And we want you to be happy too,” Rhett said with a hum. “So, get some sleep. If she needs something, she knows how to wake us up.”

“Alright,” I said. “Night boys.”

“Night Wren,” they responded.

“Night Peggy,” I said with a smile, getting a whiny yawn in return.

**Author's Note:**

> Wolf dogs are no joke, my dudes. They big but are kinda illegal in some states. We're in pretend land though and by golly Wren's gonna get some more animals and Rhett and Link will have to deal with it.


End file.
